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George Herbert is a 17th century poet.he was a priest who wrote religious poems full of devotion to god.his style is simple and concrete.this poem is one such example.the poem written simply shows that it\'s written by his heart and soul,and words full of devotion for the god\"the creator of world\".in this poem he explains why god has given the peace of mind to man,but with dissatisfied restlessness.mans\'s restlessness is a pully over which his soul is lifted to god.by a student:)

| Posted on 2014-08-20 | by a guest

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before god created man, God has crated all the wealth, (having a glass of blessing standing by)when God created man he pour this blessing in him dispersed all over the land and man sign the in which he is going to use the wealth(let us pour in him all we can, let the world riches dispersed the lie, and contract into a span) strength is the that human being received followed by wisdom, honor pleasure when God pour almost he now withheld, which is rest of mind. God said if he give the jewel(rest) to man, man will adore this than him, man will also be in chasing the nature instead of God of nature. in the last stanza God told man to keep all the wealth he has given to him, but without rest of mind, ( let him be rich and weary) at last this weariness will put man back to God

| Posted on 2014-02-04 | by a guest

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The poem is symbolic. Actually there are lot of interpretations that we can get out of it. But as for me, in behalf of my acquaintances who have shared some of their opinions regarding this poem, the pulley symbolizes GOD, God the creator poured out all the riches into us, humans. However, He believes that if He will give us REST, we will adore all His riches and not God himself. Considering the pulley, as the other side keep pushing downward the other side would definitely goes up. Thus, as WEARINESS and RESTLESSNESS keep on moving down, we, people who are at the other side will surely come closer to our ALmighty Lord, who is the Pulley :)

| Posted on 2013-10-17 | by a guest

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This pulley is a metaphorical instrument which has power or the god pulls a man who has restlessness in his life. It shows the relationship between god and his creation of man.This poem is also called as Age of Region.

| Posted on 2012-09-19 | by a guest

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This pulley is a metaphorical instrument which has power or the god pulls a man who has restlessness in his life. It shows the relationship between god and his creation of man.This poem is also called as Age of Region.

| Posted on 2012-09-19 | by a guest

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This pulley is a metaphorical instrument which has power or the god pulls a man who has restlessness in his life. It shows the relationship between god and his creation of man.This poem is also called as Age of Region.

| Posted on 2012-09-19 | by a guest

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x et al sought after by every Man forms the basis of his Happiness. He relentlessly strives his entire life to acquire them and hold on to them. These are exactly the qualities which the world seeks in a Man and rewards him. Man falls into the trap to \'possess\' them,in the process, forgetting his true nature of, Peace Contentment,Satisfaction, not borne out by these possessions but inherently present within him always.It was created alongside Man\'s creation only to be discovered by Man. Herbert professes that God uses Rest as a pulley to pull Man towards Him, it was indeed within Man from the beginning.S.Sharath Chandra,Mysore

| Posted on 2012-08-05 | by a guest

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x et al sought after by every Man forms the basis of his Happiness. He relentlessly strives his entire life to acquire them and hold on to them. These are exactly the qualities which the world seeks in a Man and rewards him. Man falls into the trap to \'possess\' them,in the process, forgetting his true nature, x not borne out by these possessions but inherently present within him always.It was created alongside Man\'s creation only to be discovered by Man. Herbert professes that God uses Rest as a pulley to pull Man towards Him, it was indeed within Man from the beginning.S.Sharath Chandra,Mysore

| Posted on 2012-08-05 | by a guest

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I really liked how well this poem flowed and how Herbert chose to have a relaxed tone throughout it. I believe that “The Pulley” is a unique way to convey the story of creation through God’s eyes. The central idea of the poem is that when God first created man, he put strength, beauty, wisdom, honor, and pleasure into his blessings. As the poem continues, I think it portrays the relationship between man and God

| Posted on 2011-10-25 | by a guest

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\'\'PULLEY\'\' ASUGGESTS THAT THE MIND AND ASPIRATIONS OD THE HUMAN BEINGS TURNES TOWARDS THE HEAVENLY IN SPITE OF ALL THE PLEASURES AND PENALTIES OF BEING UPON THE EARTH . THESE TWO DIMENSIONS OF REALITY CAN BE BROUGHT TO RECONCILE WITH EACH OTHER. THIS CAN BE DONE BY POETIC SIX SENSE WHIXH PROVIDES A PASSAGE FROM \'\' THE DOMAIN OF THE MATTER OF FACT INTO THE DOMAIN OF THE IMAGINATION .

| Posted on 2011-02-06 | by a guest

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in my own idea, it\'s about God and his creation, man.. it\'s about give and take of God to man and man to God.. that whatever God has given to his people or man, man knows also how to compensate it in one way or another.

| Posted on 2011-01-05 | by a guest

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George Herbert is a 17th century poet.he was a priest who wrote religious poems full of devotion to god.his style is simple and concrete.this poem is one such example. the poem written simply shows that it\'s written by his heart and soul,and words full of devotion for the god\"the creator of world\".in this poem he explains why god has given the peace of mind to man,but with dissatisfied restlessness.mans\'s restlessness is a pully over which his soul is lifted to god.by a student:)

| Posted on 2010-11-18 | by a guest

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George Herbert is a 17th century poet.he was a priest who wrote religious poems full of devotion to god.his style is simple and concrete.this poem is one such example. the poem written simply shows that it\'s written by his heart and soul,and words full of devotion for the god\"the creator of world\".in this poem he explains why god has given the peace of mind to man,but with dissatisfied restlessness.mans\'s restlessness is a pully over which his soul is lifted to god.by a student:)

| Posted on 2010-11-18 | by a guest

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man is reflection of god....why at all gods needs some instrument to pull his creation to..him....as mother wants her child to be back home...at some point of time...god has his own strategy to pull back is creation ....god sounds like any insecure father out of love for his child uses his own means to care and bring back the child home.

| Posted on 2010-10-17 | by a guest

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This poem says about god the creator of universe as selfish though he has given all eternal things...The poem says that god behaves like man as he also thinks to have man to himself.

| Posted on 2010-08-13 | by a guest

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I believe there are also allusions to Greek mythology in this poem, such as Pandora's Box and Prometheus.

| Posted on 2010-04-05 | by a guest

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In the poem, the central idea posited by Herbert is that when God made man, he poured all his blessings on him, including strength, beauty, wisdom, honor and pleasure. However, as in Pandora's box, one element remained. We are told that God "made a stay," that is, He kept "Rest in the bottome." We might, in modern parlance, call this God's ace. God is aware that if He were to bestow this "jewel" (i.e. rest) on Man as well then Man would adore God's gifts instead of God Himself. God has withheld the gift of rest from man knowing fully well that His other treasures would one day result in a spiritual restlessness and fatigue in man who, having tired of His material gifts, would necessarily turn to God in his exhaustion. God, being omniscient and prescient, knows that there is the possibility that even the wicked might not turn to Him, but He knows that eventually mortal man is prone to lethargy; his lassitude, then, would be the leverage He needed to toss man to His breast. In the context of the mechanical operation of a pulley, the kind of leverage and force applied makes the difference for the weight being lifted. Applied to man in this poem, we can say that the withholding of Rest by God is the leverage that will hoist or draw mankind towards God when other means would make that task difficult. However, in the first line of the last stanza, Herbert puns on the word "rest" suggesting that perhaps God will, after all, let man "keep the rest," but such a reading would seem to diminish the force behind the poem's conceit. The importance of rest -and, by association, sleep- is an idea that was certainly uppermost in the minds of Renaissance writers. Many of Shakespeare's plays include references to sleep or the lack of it as a punishment for sins committed. In Macbeth, for example, the central protagonist is said to "lack the season of all natures, sleep" and both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are tormented by the lack of sleep. Even Othello is most disconcerted by the fact that he is unable to sleep peacefully once Iago has poisoned him with the possibility of his wife's infidelity with Cassio. Herbert's Pulley, then, does not present a new concept. In fact, the ideas in the poem are quite commonplace for seventeenth century religious verse. What is distinctly metaphysical about the poem is that a religious notion is conveyed through a secular, scientific image that requires the reader's acquaintance with, and understanding of, some basic laws of physics.Pulleys and hoists are mechanical devices aimed at assisting us with moving heavy loads through a system of ropes and wheels (pulleys) to gain advantage. We should not be surprised at the use of a pulley as a central conceit since the domain of physics and imagery from that discipline would have felt quite comfortable to most of the metaphysical poets. Written by : Alaa Cali4nia Boy

| Posted on 2009-08-10 | by a guest

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This poem portrays the relationship betweem man and god and also explains the method by which god recieves the respect from man by keeping the information of his eternal rest.

| Posted on 2009-07-30 | by a guest

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When God at first made man,Having a glass of blessings standing by,Let us (said He) pour on him all we can:Let the world's riches, which dispersed lie,Contract into a span.So strength first made a way;Then beauty flowed, then wisdom, honour, pleasure:When almost all was out, God made a stay,Perceiving that alone of all His treasureRest in the bottom lay.For if I should (said He)Bestow this jewel also on my creature,He would adore My gifts instead of Me,And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature:So both should losers be.Yet let him keep the rest,But keep them with repining restlessness:Let him be rich and weary, that, at least,If goodness lead him not, yet wearinessMay toss him to My breast.

| Posted on 2009-02-16 | by a guest

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When God at first made man,Having a glass of blessings standing by,Let us (said He) pour on him all we can:Let the world's riches, which dispersed lie,Contract into a span.So strength first made a way;Then beauty flowed, then wisdom, honour, pleasure:When almost all was out, God made a stay,Perceiving that alone of all His treasureRest in the bottom lay.For if I should (said He)Bestow this jewel also on my creature,He would adore My gifts instead of Me,And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature:So both should losers be.Yet let him keep the rest,But keep them with repining restlessness:Let him be rich and weary, that, at least,If goodness lead him not, yet wearinessMay toss him to My breast.